


True North

by AllTheFeels



Series: Compass Rose [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Compass AU, Coping, EXO wins this time, I wrote this instead of a paper, M/M, Prequel, Sorry Antigone, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, The Plot Thickens, There are soulmate compasses that hurt the first time they move, as one fic rec put it "soulmate AU meshed with canonverse"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6046900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheFeels/pseuds/AllTheFeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One month and four days later, Joonmyun traces his compass with his thumb for the last time. The black lines seem a little darker, as if in protest, and for just a brief moment, he lets his soulmate cross his mind.</p><p>(The compasses are soulmate marks, appearing at birth and disappearing at death. This shouldn’t be as complex as it is--- they should just move in the presence of the person’s soulmate, but no. They come with quirks.)</p><p>(Prequel to Atlas.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	True North

**Author's Note:**

> A BRUSH UP ON THE COMPASS AU:  
> Everyone is born with a compass on their wrist, which will remain pointing North until, essentially, whenever the compass feels like moving, at which point the pain is typically enough that soulmates will find each other through crying out. As an Idol, you are expected to cover your compass, especially if it is pointing towards somebody you are seen with frequently.

When he was younger, and it was still acceptable to talk about those things, Joonmyun had learned that sometimes you just  _ felt _ different around your soulmate. It wasn’t any particular feeling, and it seemed to differ from person to person, but they were so concrete in their knowledge that when their compass moved, they trusted it to point towards whoever they were head over heels for. 

 

Typically, they were right.

 

_ It’s strange, though _ , Joonmyun thinks,  _ I used to feel that, but at the time… it seemed like it was nothing. Well, no, not nothing. It felt like something, but… _

 

It didn’t feel like the overpowering joy that had been described to him, nor the childish glee at the very presence of his soulmate. No, it felt like energy trembling beneath his fingertips; electricity running through his veins. He’d felt in control,  _ safe _ , so secure and so certain he would have stepped in front of a gun at the other man’s very words. It had felt like the most ultimate, intimate form of trust possible, a full invasion of Joonmyun’s being. He had been himself, and also not himself at all, as if he had been a host for two people. It felt...right. 

 

It doesn’t feel like that anymore. No, now it feels like bastardized poetry tattooed onto his skin. Every word feels etched into eternity, every syllable blending together to create the black ink soaked into his flesh.

 

The compass hasn’t moved yet, and Joonmyun is beyond thankful. He knows who his soulmate is. His soulmate is the reason he’s awake at three in the morning every other day, holding one of his friends while he sobs. His soulmate is the reason Luhan broke down the other day, frantically mumbling into his fists that he could never leave now, not when the knows the destruction left behind. 

 

(Luhan will leave, Joonmyun knows. This will give him more time, but he won’t stay. SM’s grip on him has been slipping.)

 

His soulmate is a hurricane, and he’s trapped in the center of it. 

 

The eye of the hurricane is the calmest, naturally, and so Joonmyun stays calm. He’ll fire off insults occasionally, but most of the time he’s just  _ cold _ . He’ll comfort everyone, he’ll cry with them if need be, but he’s hollow. He’s hollow, and it feels so sick, it feels so wrong, but he can’t stir up any emotion but disgust.

 

_ “The compass is your greatest guide in life,” _ He’d been told for years. The compass, his soulmate mark, was supposed to move and it would be painful, but a joyous pain. The pain would be what led him to his other half, and everything would begin to fall into place. Well, society had been right. Everything was falling. His world is beginning to crumble around him, and it’s all because of an immobile compass, mockingly stuck pointing North. 

It’s two in the morning when Joonmyun decides that this pain can’t be any worse than the pain of just  _ ending it _ . 

 

The compasses can be removed. It’s not a popular procedure--- they come back with lasers, and any tattoo placed over them fades quickly, so the best way to keep them away for as long as possible is to do massive damage to the skin there. To burn it away. It was supposed to be the worst pain one could ever feel, to burn it away, but the procedure numbers were climbing (according to the internet). A few trustworthy-seeming websites told him that the majority of those requesting the procedure were either quite young or quite old. Typically their soulmate had died, but in some cases the soulmate had left for, well, whatever reason they felt like. According to one account, it wasn’t actually  _ horrible _ , especially given the fact the girl in question had anesthetic. She said the worst was the phantom pains she felt over her wrist sometimes, like someone had wrapped their hand around it and dug their nails in.

 

_ I’ve felt pain worse than that. _

 

He’s drafting an email to management by four, and by six he’s hitting send. How much of an inconvenience can the procedure actually be, anyways? He can pay for it, and the scar tissue absolutely  _ cannot _ be harder to cover up than the mark itself. Sure, Joonmyun would have to take it easy for a few weeks after the procedure, but it’s his  _ wrist _ \--- wrap it with a bandage and he could likely go on his merry way. 

 

It takes two months and three days to convince SM. 

 

First, it’s management. Two weeks of arguments with men who treat him like a child, as though he’s throwing a temper tantrum. They frown at him and tell him that he probably hasn’t thought it through fully, that he should wait for just a while longer. Eventually, Joonmyun gives up and watches the procedure, thanks to an hour long Youtube video and a long van ride. He rolls his eyes when one of them looks over his shoulder in the van and balks at the burned skin on his screen. After that, they just pass his arguments along the chain, and eventually SM’s mighty knees buckle and he’s given permission.

 

One month and four days later, Joonmyun traces his compass with his thumb for the last time. The black lines seem a little darker, as if in protest, and for just a brief moment, he lets his soulmate cross his mind.

 

_ What would Yifan think? Would he want this, too? Do I feel like plastic smiles to him, too, or are they warm in his memory? What do I do when his compass moves? Would he come back, or would he carry on pretending that I’m just a bitter memory? How would he react if he came back--- would he hate me even more, or perhaps pity me, or more likely--- he’ll turn and run. Again. _

 

Ten minutes later, novocaine is flooding Joonmyun’s senses, and anything Yifan would have thought doesn’t matter anymore, any hazy future is going dark along with his eyesight. It will be alright--- this will be over once he wakes up. 

 

This will all be over. 

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see! I've been busy and haven't been able to write much, thus the late upload. I'm going to answer a few questions upfront:
> 
> 1) Why did you put this as a prequel? Atlas is about BTS/Yoonmin, not EXO.  
> The plot for the compass AU involves both BTS and EXO. This fic is a prequel to Atlas, which should have a sequel coming out soon. The sequel, which will center around Taehyung, will explain more about the compasses, in particular the compass moving for the first time when the soulmates are far apart-- and yes, the sequel will involve Tae and an EXO member. I'm probably not going to give anything away, but if you'd like to comment and guess I might let you know if you're right or not.
> 
> 2) You can remove your compass?  
> Yes, you can! They have the same depth as tattoos, and the reason for the burning is explained in the fic. Essentially, the burning is the only thing that will destroy the skin for long enough that the compass cannot reappear.
> 
> 3) IS THIS THE END???  
> Nope! You'll definitely be seeing more of Krisho in upcoming sequels ^_^
> 
> 4) Why is Luhan mentioned?  
> Honestly? I felt like adding extra angst, it was late, I wasn't thinking about the logistics, but I really enjoy those few lines so they're staying. Whoops.  
> As always, comment and let me know what you thought and drop a kudos if you enjoyed. Thank you for reading!!


End file.
